Baby boy found dead in SUV in Ohio store parking lot

An 8-month-old boy was found dead in the back of a sports utility vehicle parked for hours in an Ohio store parking lot after one of his parents apparently forgot to drop him off at daycare with his siblings, police said on Thursday.

Jayce Markell Benjamin was found unresponsive on Wednesday afternoon in an SUV that his grandmother had driven to her job at Walmart in Macedonia, Ohio, 25 miles south of Cleveland, according to Summit County medical examiner chief investigator Gary Guenther.

Benjamin was in a seat in the third row of the SUV when one of his parents dropped off his three siblings at daycare on Wednesday morning, Macedonia police Lieutenant Vince Yakopovich said.

The SUV was then driven back to the home in Garfield Heights where Benjamin’s grandmother took it to work before noon, Yakopovich said. The police responded at 5:34 p.m. to an emergency call.

The medical examiner is performing an autopsy to determine cause of death.

“Although it’s very early in this investigation it appears that this was a tragic accident and not a matter of foul play,” a Macedonia police department statement said.